How to Write About Your Obstacles, Challenges, and Problems in your Secondary Essays

If the school is asking about obstacles in your journey, one of the biggest things students fear is being pitied.

Students don’t want to write about their story because they think the readers are going to take pity on them.

But that’s not the goal of this essay.

The Goal of Secondary Essays

The goal of your secondary essays is to show who you are.

Your goal is to show what you have done, what you have overcome, and what you had to do with the resources available to you.

Writing about your obstacles doesn’t cause someone to pity you. Instead, this opens up their eyes to the life you’ve led.

Talk about your obstacles and talk about what you’ve done to overcome them. Tell them how you’ve become better because of those.

Don’t tie it into being a good doctor.

You don’t necessarily have to tie in your obstacles and challenges to why you’re going to be a better doctor unless the essay prompt specifically asks you to do that.

This goes with every secondary essay prompt.

You don’t have to tie your secondary essay answers into why they’re going to make you a good physician unless specifically asked.

Show them who you are.

You need to write your answers to show who you are as a person, your passions and your story, not how they’re going to make you a good physician. So as you’re writing this essay, keep that goal at the front of your mind. Paint a picture of who you are.